Minnesota Twins waste Joe Ryan’s seven strong innings, fall to Miami Marlins for third loss in a row
“Joe pitched great. He basically did exactly what he wanted to,” Baldelli said. “We gave up one run for his seven innings of work. Shoot, that’s what you want to see from your starting pitching.”
The Marlins sure saw it from fifth-year righthander Edward Cabrera, who retired 21 of the 24 hitters he faced. Cabrera is having a strong season for the Marlins, having posted a 2.36 ERA in nine May and June starts, but this was a masterpiece. Despite Cabrera continually falling behind in the count, the Twins did little with Cabrera’s mix of sinkers, sliders and changeups.
“He was throwing off-speed pitches, but his changeup is 92 to 96. It’s like a heavy sinker. And when he’s throwing strikes, he’s tough,” Baldelli said. “We had some at-bats where we got ahead and swung at some pitches outside of the zone. We need to be better, tighter, with our swing decisions.”
Cabrera retired the first seven hitters he faced before Royce Lewis, in his first game back from the injured list, punched a chopper down the left field line for a double. Cabrera simply retired the next two hitters, Christian Vázquez and Byron Buxton, on called third strikes, then retired 10 more Twins in a row.
Castro ended the silence in the seventh by beating out an infield hit to third base, then stealing second. Matt Wallner even drew a two-out walk, but Cabrera struck out Brooks Lee to finish his longest start of the season, pumping his fist and shouting for joy as he walked to the Marlins dugout.
The Marlins tacked on a second run against Louie Varland, the first he’s allowed since May 27, 11 scoreless appearances ago. That one came after Jesús Sánchez hit what appeared to be a home run, but video revealed had hit padding and Buxton’s glove, keeping it in play for a triple. Two batters later, Nick Fortes knocked in the insurance run with an opposite-field single.
